Paramount Coffee Project – Surry Hills

Paramount Coffee Project – Summary

Having just removed the only 10/10 cafe from my list, I was a little weary giving another one away, but I am finding it exceedingly difficult to fault anything about Paramount. Sure they have only open now for 2 weeks, and the shine will come of eventually, but… wow. Talk about potential for coffee experience. Did you notice that I listed four different roasters? That is because these guys grab a bean, ship it off to the different roasters, and then you get to compare and contrast the different flavours that the roasters can extract from it. AWESOME!

Starting with a pour over served cold from Small Batch Roasters of Melbourne and their Colombian El Descanso, I loved being able to sit at the bar are watch the entire process of the coffee being made from start to finish. The experience was clean and precise.

The coffee was elegant in its simplistic complexity. Simple as in it is a pour over on ice, and complex as the extraction time, weight, measured delivery of water and controlled cooling with ice. It had a heavy aroma of red delicious apples, and a robust yet mellow body. As a cold coffee, much of the expected tart cranberry was hidden, but the aftertaste was smooth and almost chocolatey. As it warmed back to room temperature, much more of the cranberry appeared and the chocolate turned into peanut as I breathed out. Such an awesome experience.

Next up came Mecca with their Colombian El Descartes and it smelled… juicy. Already salivating before drinking I was surprised to not really get a massive whack of anything specific. It was rich, dark, and… requiring a bit more cooling down. As it did, a soft acidity balanced the rich flavour but did leave my tongue feeling dry. All round the experience was much more mellow than the Small Batch.

I am so tempted to just sit here and drink their entire menu but should probably leave something to experience next time. But when you come here, and you should, sit at the coffee bar, ask the barista what they recommended and go for that. Sure, they could make you a latte but…. why….